Heartbreak As Mom Gives Birth Hours Before Husband Dies

KEY POINTS

Jb Parke died of cancer moments after his second son was born on Dec. 2
He and his wife, Haley, opted for a C-section after he was informed he only had days to live
A GoFundMe page was set up for the Parke family, and it has since raised more than $91,000

A woman gave birth to her son moments before her husband died from a terminal illness.

Haley Parke delivered a baby boy on Dec. 2 despite the child being due in three more weeks, the mother said in a post on Facebook. Her husband, Jb Parke, would die from cancer later that day.

"I have no words. It's very complicated," Haley was quoted as saying by Today.

See posts, photos and more on Facebook.

Jb was admitted to Hartford Hospital on Nov. 28 following complications from his cancer, which was diagnosed in January of this year. By Dec. 1, he was told that his 6-month prognosis had turned into days.

The cancer had already spread to Jb's lymph nodes and his lungs were filled with fluid, doctors told the couple of three years.

Haley and Jb, upon learning of the situation, requested an induction. Doctors approved the request and offered one as soon as Haley was ready.

However, the plan changed when doctors informed Haley on the morning of Dec. 2 that Jb's health was "declining fast" and that he "had a matter of a few hours" to live, according to her post.

"It was either a C-section right at that moment, or Jb would not have the opportunity to meet our son," Haley said.

The couple chose the former, and their son named John Beeson Parke, or baby Jb, was born not even half an hour later.

A team of doctors and nurses took the newborn and placed him on his father's chest.

The elder Jb's vitals "instantly improved" after his child was placed on his chest in what Haley claimed was a "miracle."

Haley was stitched up and later had her bed moved from the operating room to beside her husband's in the intensive care unit. She spent her recovery time "gazing" at Jb "in sadness, but in awe of his strength."

"He took his last breaths with our son on his chest and my hand in his hand," Haley said.

Throughout the ordeal, "there were what felt like hundreds of doctors and nurses floating us through this process effortlessly, [none of them] having a dry eye the entire time," the mother recalled.

Haley said baby Jb's story was "truly a miracle."

A GoFundMe page for the family, which included the couple's 18-month-old firstborn, Brinton, has raised a little over $91,000 out of its $100,000 goal as of press time.